Folding crate



L. A. PARKER.

FOLDING CRATE.

l9l9%,659 APPLICATION FILED MAR; 13, 1915. Patented Aug. 15,1916.

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LESTER A. PARKER, OE DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOB. O1 ONE-"TALE TO THE HOME CLUB INVESTMENT REALTY COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATION OF COLORADO.

FOLDING CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au 15, 1916.

Application filed March 13, 1915. Serial No. 1 1,073.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LESTER A. PARKER, a' citizen of the United States, r'esidingfin the city and county of Denver and State of F Colorado, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Folding Crates, and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inven-' tion, such as will enable others'slrilled 1n the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, whlch form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in folding crates or boxesfmy' object bem'g'to provide a construction of this character which may be used as a shipplng crate and which may be returned to the consignor 1n collapsed form, and used for reshipping purposes.

My further obj ect is to provlde a construction of this class which'shall be simple and economical, while at the same time,'p'oss ess ing in a relatively high degree the qualities of durability and general efficiency, and to this end, the invention consists of the fea-i tures hereinafter described and claimed, -ref-' erence being made to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodl ment thereof.

In this drawing, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved folding crate, the same being shown open, or in position for use. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a central'vertical section taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, viewed in the direction of the arrow. Fig; ais asectional view in detail of the cover, shown detached. Fig. 5 is a section similar'to Fig' 3 but showing the cover removed. Fig. 6 is a view of the crate in collapsed form, the" right hand por-. tion of the View being shown in longitudinal section and the left hand portion in side elevation. Fig. 7 is a transverse section of the crate in collapsed form, taken on the line 77, Fig; 6..

The same reference characters inolicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate the bottom of the crate, whose extremities are remforced by transverse pieces 6, each of which projects at its opposite ends beyond the edges of the bottom, these projecting portions or extensions being equal to the thickness of side flanges or'members 7 of the ends 8 of the crate. The lower edges of these ends 8 when the crate is in use, abut against the opposite ends of the bottom of the crate, as shown at 9. The side flanges of the end members are secured to these members proper in any suitable manner, as by nails, screws or other fastening devices. 1

The end members are preferably hinged to the bottom of the crate by means of rods 10, which extend transversely ofthe bottom adjacent the shoulders 12 formed by the reinforcing parts 6. The transverse parts 13 of the rods are secured to the bottom of the crate by staples 1a or other suitable de- 'vices, in such a manner that these parts may move freely in their bearings during the movement of the end members during the operation of folding and opening the crate. At the opposite extremities of the bottom portions 13 of the hinge rods, the latter are bent upwardly as shown at 15, and continued diagonally across the parts 7 of each end 8 of the crate. Assuming that the crate is in the open position, these upwardly bent members extend from the inner bottom corners of the parts 7 to the upper and outer diagonal corners, these diagonally arranged rod parts or members being designated by the numeral 16. At their upper extremities, these members 16 are bent at right angles and carried along the edges of the end 1116111: bers 8 as shown at 17 their free extremities being forced into the upper edges of the end members as shown at 18, where theyare fastened. The parts 16 of the hinged rods areembedded in the end flanges or members 7 and secured in position by means of metal straps 19. This construction and arrangement for hingingl the end members is both economical and efficient, since the hinge rods not only constitute relatively strong hinge pins, but also form strengthening features for the bottom and side flanges or parts 7 of the ends of the crate.-

i The two sides 20 of the crate are hinged to the outer portion of the bottom thereof by means of rings, loops, or other suitable devices, the ring or loop hinges being illustrated in the drawing and designated by the numeral 21. The lower edges of the sides 20 abut against the upper surface of the bottom of the crate, the outer portions of the sides engaging the inner surfaces of the flanges 7 of the ends, whereby the said flanges brace and thereforestrengthen and reinforce the sides. The sides are of such construction or dimensions with reference to the bottom that when the crate is collapsed, the upper edges of the sides will be separated by a space 22 which makes room for a centrally located fastening member 23 which is slidably mounted on the top 2st of the crate. hen the crate is in the open position, or position of use as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the extremities of the fastening bar 23 pass through loops 25 secured to the upper edges of the end members 8 by means of fastening devices 26 passed through flanges with which the loops are provided, the said flanges being brought into contact with the upper edges of the end members on opposite sides. The bar 23 is secured to the ends 27 of the top 24: of the crate by means of headed fastening devices 28 passed through slots 29 formed in the said bars, the heads of the fastening-devices being wider than the slots and so connected that the bar is free to slide sufficiently on the top of the crate to release the bar at one end from its loop 25 in order to permit the removal of the top. As illustrated in the drawing, (see Fig. 1) in order to attach the top 24: to the crate, the bar 23 is moved to the dotted line position, whereby its right hand extremity is passed considerably beyond the loop. The bar is then moved in the opposite direction, whereby its left hand extremity is caused to pass through its loop and project far enough to the left thereof to permit the introduction of the hasp of a padlock 30 through a relatively thin perforated part 31 formed on this end of the bar. When the bar is in this position, both of the fastening pins 28 are at the right hand extremities of their slots, thus preventing the movement of the bar farther to the left or sufficiently to release the right hand extremity from its loop, and the bar cannot be moved a sufficient distance toward the right to release its left hand extremity from the loop, on account of the padlock, which is too' large to pass through the loop.

As illustrated in the drawing, the top and sides of the crate are formed of wire mesh material, which in the top is designated 32 and in the sides, 33. It must be understood however, that the material of which these members, or any members of the crate are composed, has nothing to do with the invention, since the crate may be made of any desired material without departing in any wayfrom the spirit of the invention as de fined by the appended claims. The material should be made to conform to the use or purpose for which the crate is intended and therefore, may be composed of solid boards, if a closed case is required, largely of screen, as shown in the top and sides of the crate in the drawing, or of screen or mesh material and. slats alternating or otherwise, as may be desired.

The top 24 of the screen, as illustrated in the drawing, is provided with a centrally located transverse member 3A which extends downwardly into the crate between the side members 20, whose upper portions abut against the opposite ends thereof. Hence, the said transverse member 34 spaces the sides of the crate when the latter is in use and prevents the said sides from collapsing or folding down upon the bottom, as will be readily understood;

Assuming that the crate is open and in position for use, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, if it is desired to collapse or fold the same, the lock 30 will be firstremoved from the extremity of the locking bar 23, after which this bar may bemoved throughthe end loops 25 toward the right to the dotted line position, after which the top may be lifted from the crate by first raising'the released end, and then pulling the opposite end of the bar through its'loop by a left hand movement. As soon as this is done, the sides 20 of the crate may be folded inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 7 whereby their wood members may be brought directly in contact with the upper surface of the bottom of the crate. The top of the crate is then placed in position on top of the sides, with the locking bar lowermost and occupying the space 22 between the adjacent edges of the side members, permitting the top to lie closely against the folded or collapsed sides. The ends of the crate may then be folded downwardly toward each other and against the top, the transverse, member 34 belonging to the top of the crate being then uppermost and occupying a position between the inner extremities of the end members when the crate is in use. i In this event, the loops 25 of the end members, which are adapted to receive the locking bar when the device is in use, enter centrally located recesses 35 formed in the transverse member 34 on opposite sides for the purpose. Under these circumstances, the flanges 7 of the end members inclose the edges of the top and sides of the structure, forming a neat, closely assembled, self-contained package, which may be conveniently returned by the consignee to the shipper, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A folding crate or box comprising a bottom, sides hinged thereto to fold inwardly and downwardly thereagainst, a removable top of the same width as the bottom and having a transverse bar secured to its lower surface and Whose ends abut and space the sides when the crateis in use, the top mem ber when the crate is collapsed being adapted to occupy a position on top of the side members, and end members hinged to the bottom to fold downwardly upon the top .member, the combined width of the end members being somewhat less than the length of the top member, to leave room for the transverse bar of the top member when the parts are folded.

2. A folding crate or box having sides and ends hinged to fold inwardly, a removable top member having a transverse bar secured to its lower surface and whose ends abut and space the side members whenthe crate is in use, the top also having a longitudinally disposed locking bar connected therewith to permit a limited sliding movement in a longitudinal direction, the upper edges of the end members having retaining devices which the said locking bar enters, the sides of the crate being of such height or width that when folded, there shall be a space between their inner edges of suflicient width to receive the locking bar of the top member, the ends being of such height or width that when folded inwardly, there will be a space between their inner edges to receive the transverse bar of the top member.

8. A folding crate or box having sides and ends hinged to fold inwardly and a removable top having a longitudinally disposed locking bar connected therewith to permit a limited movement in a longitudinal direction, the upper edges of the ends having retaining devices which the said bar enters for securing purposes, the sides of the crate being of such height or width that when folded, there shall be a space between their inner edges of sufficient width to receive the locking bar of the top member.

4:. A folding crate or box having hinged end members provided with side flanges ex- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for tending laterally beyond the side edges of the bottom member, the hinges of the end members consisting of rods extending transversely across the bottom of the crate and below the inner portions of the side flanges, when the end members are in the upright position, each rod extending upwardly from the opposite ends of its transverse member and diagonally across the side flanges to the upper and outer corners of the latter.

5. A folding crate or box having hinged end members provided with side flanges extending laterally beyond the side edges of the bottom member, the hinges of the end members consisting of rods extending transversely across the bottom of the crate and below the inner portions of the side flanges, when the end members are inthe upright position, each rod extending upwardly from the opposite ends of its transverse member and diagonally across the side flanges to the upper and outer corners of the latter where the said rods are bent and carried inwardly along the upper edges of the top members and fastened.

6. A folding crate or box having hinged end members provided with side flanges extending laterally beyond the side edges of the bottom member, the latter having transverse end pieces applied to its lower surface and extending beyond the sides to engage the lower extremities of the said flanges of the end members when the crate is in use.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LESTER A. PARKER.

Witnesses:

MAZE KIRBY, ALBERT OBRIEN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

